Dec 2015 - Week1

This is what December looks like, with the view from the cliffs above Golden Bay across the sea to Gozo

Tuesday 1st to Sunday 6th December 2015

Tuesday morning I did a long walk, stopping along the way to get a haircut and do some window shopping. I got another walk in before dinner; vegetable soup with sesame bread.

Wednesday we went to lovely Valletta to do some shopping and to pick up some forms from Government Office. There is a huge multi-storey car park just by the bus station in Valletta, technically in Floriana, that we have parked in a couple of times. Spaces in it are like gold dust and we have heard stories of people giving up and driving home again. However, we have been lucky and found spaces.

There were plenty of tourists about in Valletta – at least one cruise ship was in – but mostly Valletta seemed to be full of locals doing their Christmas shopping. We had mediocre cappuccinos in Charles Gretch, enjoying a view (not) of some old guy with a serious case of builder’s bum! Valletta is packed with interesting, small, independent shops but guess what? We did most of our shopping in Marks & Spenser! Some habits die hard.

For dinner Sam cooked pasta Genovese; pasta with green beans and potatoes tossed in a fabulously fresh home-made pesto. And – hurrah – we cracked open Sam’s Christmas cake. It is brill, packed full of fruits and nuts, and I’m not sure if any will survive until Christmas Day!

Thursday morning was stunning; not a breath of wind, the sea unmoving under an impossibly blue sky. I hiked from Golden Bay along the cliff tops towards Anchor Bay. I felt like the Omega Man. I didn’t see a soul for two hours. The countryside there is rugged and completely unspoiled. The ground is rocky and uneven, covered here and there by patchy heathers and wild grasses. Even prickly pears are thin on the ground. I half expected to see a dinosaur lumber over the hillside. You can’t see a tree for miles around. No roads, no houses, just the occasional hide and a few ruined WW2 watchtowers. I saw a red spider which darted under a rock when it saw me. I can count on one hand the number of spiders I have seen since we came to Malta. I’m not complaining!

We had our monthly meeting with our landlady and at last she has bought our utility bill with her – eight months’ worth of electricity and water. Given the amount of time we have used our air conditioners and the amount of water we have used showering, the bill wasn’t nearly as bad as we had feared.

For dinner Sam prepared a somewhat weird anti pasta. Piri piri chips, bread, toast, bruschetta topping mix, dried meats and Christmas cake! God only knows what she was smoking while I was out walking!

Friday I had a shop-a-thon! It wasn’t that I had lots to buy though, it’s just that the shops I needed to visit are miles apart with heavy traffic in between, so it took a few hours. I went to Mellieha to buy a new watch, a cheapie for daytime use with a large face so that I can read the time without glasses! I had an excellent cappuccino at Puzzu then drove to Big Mat, a new DIY superstore that has opened in Qali. I was looking for a new convector heater. They only had one left which was open and on display. The assistant plugged it in to make sure it worked and a plume of acrid smoke bellowed out of it from all the burning dust. I went to Plan B and drove on to HomeMate where I got exactly what I wanted.

Sam didn’t come with me as she was busy dealing with the media for her IOM clients following the floods there.

After another good Italian lesson I came home to an excellent dinner of pizza and beer!

Saturday we went to the Selman Fort for a short walk and to take in the views. To the north, Comino and eastern Gozo; to the south, St Paul’s Bay and beyond. Malta looks green again now, following the November rains, and the hedges are full of wild fennel and rosemary. Bougainvillea still flourishes in sheltered spots and infant prickly pears are studded with unripe fruits. With only a few broken clouds about, everything is light and bright and the sea full of colour. We collected some fir cones for our Christmas decorations. We went to Munchies at Ghardira Bay for brunch; a chicken Caesar salad for me and a chicken and bacon wrap for Sam.

We went to Miracles for a couple of pre-dinner drinks. We’d no sooner arrived than the skies opened and rain thumped down thunderously. It only lasted five minutes though. We went to dinner at a local Thai restaurant, Benjawan. We had the fixed four course menu for €20 (£14) and it was very good. I have reviewed it on my food blog.

Sunday Sam sunbathed while I did the supermarket run. After lunch I went for a two hour hike. The beach in Bugibba is man-made. All the sand has now been bulldozed into a large mound and covered in plastic sheeting in an attempt to stop it being washed away during the winter. A new Japanese and sushi restaurant has opened up just around the corner from us which is particularly good news for Sam. Mostly though, we are seeing more and more bars and restaurants close now that winter has us in its grasp. For dinner we had roasted chicken, sweet potatoes and sweetcorn.